Editorial: My Zimmerman-Martin moment: On a vastly smaller scale

I am hypersensitive to legal/media cases like this because I was involved in one.

At 19, I was attacked, unprovoked, by a 23 year-old troublemaker who had three other run-ins that day. He also had been fired from his restaurant job after wrecking the kitchen.

He said he would kill me. I did everything possible to avoid the fight. I even bought him a drink. (Mistake -- this rewarded his bullying.)

There were many witnesses. He attacked me and I punched back and he died. I believe the entire fight lasted about two seconds. A witness said four. I did not kick or hit him after he crumpled. I left. I was charged with second-degree murder and assault with intent to murder and went to jail. My attorney said the only reason I faced charges was media pressure because I was a “Green Beret.”

I read all the witness statements and there was not a word against me. All the statements -- even from his own brother -- were against him. Later his mother was in the news, defending him as mothers can be expected, saying I killed her son because he made fun of my haircut. False and defamatory, but I said nothing.

From my book, Danger Close:

“A year later, a newspaper article would quote an eyewitness who had seen the man: ‘He seemed crazed.’ A young female acquaintance said that his behavior ‘scared me.’ He had cut a swath of fear that day. His scraggly brown hair contrasted with our clean-cuts, maybe reinforcing the idea that we were easy prey. He was there with some friends and his younger brother who, according to later reports, had also felt his unfettered hostility that day, but they were peacefully occupying a table.”

In a scene straight from the movie “Con-Air,” I was off to jail. Some folks later wondered if the movie was based on my case. The charges were reduced to involuntary manslaughter and I was released, but for six long months I faced the terrible specter of prison. During that time I continued to train with Special Forces at Fort Bragg. My charges derived from social pressure, such as we are seeing in the Zimmerman-Martin case. My attorney was clear that if I had been a college student instead of a “Green Beret,” it is unlikely that I would have been charged because all the evidence was in my favor, including all the witnesses. Unlike the Zimmerman case, there were eyewitnesses. There was nothing whatsoever, not a shred of evidence, that I had committed murder, while there were buckets of evidence that it was self-defense.

Poorly researched, inflammatory words were damaging my life, just as they have done on a far greater scale with Zimmerman. I know the feeling, although Zimmerman has had it far worse. For me it was partly, “Wow ... the country I will fight for is flogging me due to social pressure.” Zimmerman was trying to protect his neighborhood.

I remember well, and never trusted the media or prosecution in high profile cases since. This was the first clear germ of my future writing career and why I take cases such as Zimmerman-Martin so seriously, realizing that once the media shines too bright a light, justice can be warped. It can be especially warped by a mass hysteria that collectively forgets that we know how the story ends, but at the time, the defendant had no idea how it would end. Some school-trained journalists try to balance too many stories as if they are 50-50, as if there always are two sides to the story and both are equally valid, or characterizing an ongoing fight between people as a feud, when in fact one side simply is the aggressor but it looks like a feud.

In my upcoming book The Bomb Boys, there appeared to be a feud between two neighbor women. One of the women moved across the country, and then came back with a pipe bomb and tried to blow up her neighbor but accidentally blew up herself. She was insane and using meth. But from the outside until that moment it looked like a feud.

This was true in my case, which naturally was characterized as a dispute, as if this was a 50-50 disagreement between two men who both willingly engaged in a fight. Many people use shortcut thinking like “it takes two to tango.” Not true. The tango is a dance that both wish to participate in. I did not want to dance. If I lost I could be dead, and if I won I would be kicked out of Special Forces, and I did not want to fight him to begin with. There was nothing to gain by fighting a random crazy man.

Imagine how this played out. “Newly minted Green Beret weapons specialist kills man in bar,” was the gist of it. The reality was that during Special Forces training they warned us a hundred times not to get into any sort of trouble. If you cannot control yourself downtown, there is no place for you in Special Forces. They were not looking for “Trouble Forces” but people who would rock steady. I thought my time was over.

The man dropped from outer space into my life, forcing me into a problem-solving mode. I bought him a drink and that was an error, but I did not know that at the time. Zimmerman got out of the car and we can fault him for that because we know the story ends with Martin shot. Zimmerman did not know that at the time.

Often one party simply is the bad guy, and the man who killed him actually is the victim, and even if the victim made mistakes, he still is the victim who was pushed or pulled into making mistakes that if he had to do over, he would change. But we only know that after we know how the story ends.

If you knew you were going to have a car wreck today, you would stay home. Imagine being prosecuted, and the prosecutor demands, “Well, why did you drive that day at all?” Answer, “Do you think my eyes are crystal balls?”

If Zimmerman could replay those events, surely he would not have stepped out of the car, and I would not have bought my attacker a drink. In retrospect and with more experience, I realize how dumb that was. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Zimmerman probably has said the same to himself a thousand times.

The journalists, prosecutors, and public have the advantage of knowing how the story ends, and they get to analyze it using 10 percent of the facts and a great deal of secondhand misinformation, all while their adrenaline is not pumping, and it is quiet and no lights are flashing, and they are not in fear for their lives. These cases become television soap operas where everyone seems like actors. These are real people on the line. I wish the best for Trayvon’s parents, and for Zimmerman. Bad things happen to good people.

Michael Yon is an independent writer, photographer, and former Green Beret who was embedded in Iraq for nine months in 2005. He moved from Iraq to report on the war in Afghanistan. Entirely reader-supported, Yon publishes at http://michaelyon-online.

Your Opinions and Comments

Facts.....Out of perhaps a few hundred comments, I have
had only one comment deleted which was richly deserved.
I think it had something to do about soaking one's socks
in a petroleum product to keep the ants off a confectionery
posterior. ... More ›

Facts.....Out of perhaps a few hundred comments, I have
had only one comment deleted which was richly deserved.
I think it had something to do about soaking one's socks
in a petroleum product to keep the ants off a confectionery
posterior. My deleted comment was phrased a bit different.
Please don't get paranoid. I once had a friend who
told me that he used to think that he was just paranoid
but now knew that the b*******s were after him. They
walk among us......

PG - No not suggesting censorship - Quite the contrary - It is very entertaining/funny/sad to read the back and forth ranting on this site in the comments - It is the reason I make this site one of my stops every day and pay ... More ›

PG - No not suggesting censorship - Quite the contrary - It is very entertaining/funny/sad to read the back and forth ranting on this site in the comments - It is the reason I make this site one of my stops every day and pay to get the whole story. Hope it never changes. I miss reading the comments on Miller - It has been at least a week - We need another article on that mess. Definitly do not come to WCN for more than one opinion on issues (except in the comments). And yes all web sites/newspapers are bias - It is the Publishers/Owners right and reason to own a web site/paper I assume.
A good reason to visit several different sites to hear it all.

I agree with 'ole Grouch....all you have to do is turn on your local channels and/or read the local newspapers to hear bias....meaning the Democratic, thatta boy...oops it wasn't us, had to be Bush or the Republicans party ... More ›

I agree with 'ole Grouch....all you have to do is turn on your local channels and/or read the local newspapers to hear bias....meaning the Democratic, thatta boy...oops it wasn't us, had to be Bush or the Republicans party today. Sick, sick, sick of uniformative news...just their "unbiased" opinion, yeah right...who are ya'll kidding??????

If you liberal democrats want "fair and balanced"
in a mostly conservative area, then I suggest you
watch Fox news. Like Elaine, they are also unafraid.
I saw a picture of the liberal good intentions....
The ... More ›

If you liberal democrats want "fair and balanced"
in a mostly conservative area, then I suggest you
watch Fox news. Like Elaine, they are also unafraid.
I saw a picture of the liberal good intentions....
The skyline of Detroit.
Retiredinlavernia.....I also visit numerous sites
on a daily basis and consider the comments on the WCN
to be civil and tame when compared to those on national
forums. Sounds like you might be advocating censorship.
Has 1984 arrived or did I miss it while on vacation ?

Facts - I am a electronic and paper substriber also and agree this web site/paper is as one sided as they come - I still visit it on my daly routine (one of probally 20 sites)and enjoy reading the rants in the comments even though ... More ›

Facts - I am a electronic and paper substriber also and agree this web site/paper is as one sided as they come - I still visit it on my daly routine (one of probally 20 sites)and enjoy reading the rants in the comments even though I rarely comment myself. This site does not delete many comment and I am surprised at some of the comments that are left by the staff.

Facts......I hit the submit button by mistake before
finishing my last comment......Thanks for providing
me a reason for loving the WCN and the content thereof.
Since you state that the WCN is not part of any national
profession ... More ›

Facts......I hit the submit button by mistake before
finishing my last comment......Thanks for providing
me a reason for loving the WCN and the content thereof.
Since you state that the WCN is not part of any national
profession news organization, I assume that removes
the WCN from the MSM which is only reason to love it
more, :)
Note......the success of retirement plans is judged
on the amount of inflation adjusted money that you are
able to extract from your fund during actual retirement.
Remember, inflation is the cruelest tax of all. Using
the CPI calculator, about a quarter million of 2013
dollars was only worth about forty two thousand dollars
in 1970.....Good luck on the ups and downs.......

Facts.......Although this was just a general observation
not aimed at any individual, it's nice to know that
you are a fellow subscriber. I have read lots of
articles where a book and author have been mentioned.
Some as ... More ›

Facts.......Although this was just a general observation
not aimed at any individual, it's nice to know that
you are a fellow subscriber. I have read lots of
articles where a book and author have been mentioned.
Some as a reference and others as a self promoting
venue. There is an abundance of this type of activity
on TV news shows. I'm sure that it might not meet
some elite standards but it's ok with a simple country
boy.
I sincerely urge Elaine to do a story on the positive
aspects of Democratic control of the Detroit city government
for the past half century. She could start a weekly
feature outlining all the positive aspects of the
democratic inspired war on poverty. There are just
so many unsung stories about the effect that liberal
policies have had on the well being of the population.
Reading a statement about standards from a democratic
party supporter is amusing.

Prairie: I am in fact paid up and have the paper copy delievered every Wed. As far as Wilson County News meeting standards. This paper/owner is not a member of a National recognized profession news organization. So what standards ... More ›

Prairie: I am in fact paid up and have the paper copy delievered every Wed. As far as Wilson County News meeting standards. This paper/owner is not a member of a National recognized profession news organization. So what standards are you referring? Continuing to report only positive GOP interest stories and refusing to acknowledge positive Democrate related stories like everyone's retirement plans now double since Bush left office is a prime example. Do your own research on those editors and newspapers formally recognized by the National Orbs.

A few months ago, one of the frequent bloggers to this forum mentioned
not being a subscriber to the Wilson County News.
I often wonder how many of those who criticize the
content of the WCN have a dime in the game. I don't
think ... More ›

A few months ago, one of the frequent bloggers to this forum mentioned
not being a subscriber to the Wilson County News.
I often wonder how many of those who criticize the
content of the WCN have a dime in the game. I don't
think that I would subscribe to a publication which
did not meet my standards. Of course, if I participated
in the WCN forums, I would feel obligated to pay my
fair share. And yes, I am a subscriber and agree with
most of the content.

Elaine: You and PRAIRIE miss the point. He could have written an editorial without advertising his books. What is the purpose of an editorial? This is more an advertisement for the reader to buy his books. Having said that, ... More ›

Elaine: You and PRAIRIE miss the point. He could have written an editorial without advertising his books. What is the purpose of an editorial? This is more an advertisement for the reader to buy his books. Having said that, I don't expect you or PRAIRIE to understand the difference since most newpapers don't allow this practice in their editorial section.

Facts only Please......Just one more liberal democrat
railing against the free enterprise system ? A waste
of time would have resulted in no reply. Regardless
of the lure, you can usually entice a big mouth bass
to strike...:)

I remember when I was young, that if it was on tv it had to be true. I can remember when professionals acted professional. I can remember when the news was boring, but you knew it was boring, but informative, so you didn't care.

Elaine,
Could you forward this to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, there are some folks over there who need to read it. I was just watching CNN international and they keep refering to Zimmerman as having "gotten away with Murder". ... More ›

Elaine,
Could you forward this to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, there are some folks over there who need to read it. I was just watching CNN international and they keep refering to Zimmerman as having "gotten away with Murder". No objectivity there huh? Maybe they should read it as well.